The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1887-07-07
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Beautiful Story OF the Sitting
of the Tempest.

The Power OF Christ, Not Only to Quel
Storms, But to Deliver Us from Evil
Victory Of Reilsion Over tho
sophIstries of Skepticasm.
In recent sermon at the Brooklyn Tab
ernacle, Rev. Z. De Witt Tslmage chose
for his subject ssThe Tempest" illustrat-
ing it from the beautiful story of Jesus
sitting the storm on the Sea OF Galilee.
His text was:
Mark ", verses SO to 50 inclusive.
Tiberius, Galilee, Gennesaret-three
names for the same lake. No other gem
ever had 50 beautiful setting. It lay in
a scene of great luxuriance; the sur
rounding hills, terraced, sloped, groved,
SO fnany hanging gardens Of beauty, the
wstors rumbling down between rocks of
gray and red limestone, dashing from the
hills and bounding into the sea- On the
shore were castles, armed towers, Roman
hathA every thing attractive and beauti-
fui; ell styles Of vegetation in shorter
space than almost any other space in all
the world, from the palm tree Of the for
est to the tree of rigorous climate.
1t seemed as il the Lord had launched
one wave OF beauty on all the scene, and it
hung and swung from rock, and hill, and
oleender. Roman gentlemen in pleasure
boats sailing the lake, and countrymen in
fishing smacks coming down to drop their
nets, pass each other with nod, and shout,
and laughter, or swinging idly at their
moorings. Oh, what wonderful, what
a beentifui lakel
1t seems as II we shall have quiet
night Not q leaf winked in the air; not
ripple disturbed the face Of Gennesaret;
but there seems to be little excitement
up theibeaeh, and we hasten to see what
1t is and we find it an embarkation.
From the western shore 1otilla push
Ing out; not o squadron or deadly arma-
ment nor clipper with valuable mer-
chandise, nor piratic vessels ready to de-
stroy every thing they could seize; but
hotilla, bearing messengers OF life, and
light and peace. Christ is in the front of
the boat. His disciples are In smaller
boat. Jesus, weary with much speaking
to largo multitudes, is put into
somnolence by the rocking Of the waves.
II there was any motion at all the ship
was easily righted; if the wind passed
from starboard to larboard, or from lar
board to starboard, tho boat would rock,
and by the gentleness Of the motion put
ting the Master to sleep. And they ex-
temporized q pillow made out Of fisher
mans coat Think no sooner is Christ
PROSTATE, and his head touches the pill.
low, than he is sound asleep. The breezes
Of the lake run their fingers through the
locks Of the worn sleeper, and the boat
rises and falls like sleeping child on the
bosom Of 8 sleeping mother.
Calm night, starry night, beautiful
night. Run up all the sails, ply all the
oars. and let the large boat and the small
boat glide over gentle Gennesaret. But
the sailors say there is going to be
change Of weather. And even the pas
aengers can hear the moaning Of the
storm, az it comes on with great stride,
and all the terrors OF hurricane and dark
ness. The large boat trembles like deer
at bay among the clangor Of the hounds;
great patches OF foam are flung into the
air; the sails OF the vessel loosen and the
or boats, like petrels, poise ON the Cliff Of
the waves and then plunge.
Overheard go cargo, tackling and masts,
and the drenched disciples rush into the
back of the boat and lay hold Of Christ,
and say unto him:
Master, carest thou not that we perishi
That great parsonage lifts his head
from the pillow Of the fsherman's coat,
walks to the front Of the vessel and loo ks
out into the storm. All around arc the
smaller boats. driven in the tempest, and
through it como the cry of drowning men.
By the fash Of the lightning I see the
calm brow OF Christ as the spray dropped
from his beard He has one word for the
sky and another for the waves. Looking
upward he criess
'sPeacel"
Looking downward he says.
BE STILL"
The waves fall fat on their faces, the
foam melts, the extinguished stars re-
light their torches. The tempest falls
dead, and Christ stands with his feet on
the neck OF the storm. And while the
sailors are bailing out the boats, and
while they are trying to untangle the
cordage, the disciples stand in amaze
ment; now looking into the calm sea,
then into tho calm sky, then into the
calm Saviour's countenance, and they cry
out:
what manner Of man is this, that even
the winds and the sea obey himr'
The subject in the first place, impresses
me with the fact that it is very important
to have Christ with the ship; for all those
boats would have gone to the bottom of
Gennesaret IL Christ had not been pres
emit. Oh. what a lesson for you and for me
to learnt We must always have Christ in
the ship. Whatever voyage we under
take, in whatever enterprise we start, let
us always have Christ in the ship
Many OF you in these days of revived
commences are starting out in new finan-
cial enterprises. bid yor good cheer. Do
all you can. Do it on as high plane as pos
sible. You have no right to be stolxer in
the ship it you can be an admiral Of the
navy. You have no right to be colonel
OF the regiment il You can command q
brigade. You have no right to be engineer
Of boat on river bank, or near the coast,
If you can take the ocean steamer from
New York to Liverpool. All you can do
with utmost tension Of body, mind and
soul you are bound to do; but, OIL have
Christ in every enterprise, Christ in every
voyage, Christ in every ship.
There are men here who ask God to
help them at the start of great enter
prises. He has been with them in the
past; NO trouble can overthrow them; the
storms might come down from the top of
Mount Hermon, and lash Gennesaret into
foam and into agony, but it could not
hurt them.
But here is another man who starts out